Australia's dental care system is in crisis. or signup to continue reading It's children, particularly those with special needs, who are suffering mostly, in silence and pain; on waiting lists for years or travelling hours for care. Forget the calls from the as part of Medicare, a clear pre-election sweetener.
This would require a complete overhaul of the entire dental workforce and model in Australia. Unrealistic at this point. There is some very low-hanging, cost-effective, fruit ripe for the picking.
In the last year alone, private and public hospitals have reduced, or removed, operating lists for paediatric dentists. This means at least 1500 fewer infants and children receive operations and are left suffering in pain. That, by anyone's standards, is not OK.
Australia is continuingly failing some of our most vulnerable populations: children under 17, and individuals with disabilities. Despite years of promises and piecemeal policy, dental care remains largely inaccessible to those who need it most. This inaccessibility isn't just a coincidence; it's the direct result of a fragmented, underfunded system that relies heavily on private expenditure, leaving public resources stretched and waiting lists unbearably long.
The current structure of dental care funding in Australia is fundamentally flawed. The federal government allocates a tiny, limited budget toward dental care, which is then supplemented by various state-level contributions. But most dental funding comes from the .
